CelebNMusic247: Internet Celebrity Gossip + Music News Source

(CelebNMusic247-News) Neil Blomkamp Touches on Immigration and Health Care

Matt Damon (Max), Jodie Foster (Secretary Delacourt) and Alice Braga (Frey) star in writer/director Neill Blomkamp sci-fi thriller Elysium.

Elysium is a gritty look at the future and what the human race has become. The year is 2154 and the world has become a divide of two classes the very wealthy and the poor. On earth the cities are over populated, there is barely and medicine, it’s dirty, dusty, and broken down. The USA looks like a third would country and our society lives in broken down apartments, man-made tin framed huts. There are no more trees, or animals as we’ve killed them off and money no longer exists. Everything is vouchers in the future and all the luxuries of streets and city live is a mash of low budget living.

While citizens of earth struggle to survive, the wealthy have fled to a space station that only allows the wealthiest to live there. Elysium is a suburban space station orbiting earth, and is filled with lavish with trees, lawns, pools lakes, and wild life and mansions. The population is on lock and no one is allowed to the exclusive space station that has its own man made atmosphere. On Elysium there is no sickness or disease as each home owner has their very own medical tables that cures any disease or sickness. From broken legs to cancer, Elysium is paradise for the rich. The people of Elysium have unimaginable wealth, and they use those resources to build a separate, synthetic, almost hermetic environment for themselves.

The movie touches on many social issues today like Obama care, Medicare, immigration and the divide of the social classes. Director Neill Blomkamp (District 9) has a keen way to take current issues in today’s world and fuse them into the elements of Sci-fi giving fans a well-rounded film that has meat on its bones.

Originally Blomkamp had his eye on Eminem to take on the role of Max, but when Em refused to film anywhere else where. He demanded to film in Detroitand when Blomkamp said no, he turned his back on the offer. Blomkamp filmed the movie in Vancouver Canada for two months and then filmed the city scenes in Mexico. The plot of the flick is quite simple, since the Earth has become a vastly overpopulated ruined planet that the people of Earth are desperate to escape due to crime and poverty that is now rampant throughout the land. Earthlings are treated like disease when the try to flea to Elysium for savor. If they land on the suburban paradise that has clean air they are quickly deported. Secretary Delacourt (Jodie Foster) does NOT tolerate immigrants crossing her ‘outer space’ boarders and will do anything and everything in her power to take action. The film also touches on homeland security and how its developed over the years.

When an incident goes down with Delacourt killing over 42 innocent people, she faces the President and the council who give her one last chance to clean up her controversial ways. She agrees to disagree and then makes a call to Earth to have a new code made so she can over-ride Elysium. There are two things that are the catalyst of the film to give Max motive. One is Delacourts plans to takeover and a accident at work that threatens Max (Matt Damons) life.

While Delecourt is fighting immigrants, Max finds out he only has a shorty time to live, so his former car thieve boss gives him a chance to help himself to stay alive and get to Elysium. While Max is ready to go and get cured Frey and her daughter also needs to be cured. The movie is evenly paced, but has a very interesting storyline that keeps you interested. Delecourt activate a sleeper cell named Kruger (Sharlto Copley) who played Wikus Van De Merwe in District 9. The film goes from a social sci-fi film to an action thriller like Aliens or Promethius.

Overall the film is very interesting and keeps you engaged. As for Matt Damon playing the role of Max we wonder if Eminem would have given it the edginess and Neil Blomkamp was aiming for. Damon who is a great actor seems to be a bit monotone with his delivery. He plays the character a bit like his role in Hereafter. Damon’s love interest Frey (Alice Braga) plays a strong independent woman who pushes through life no matter how hard life is. She has hopes and dreams, never giving up despite the road blocks given to her and her daughter. Max and Frey are two foster children who go different ways in their adult life and then comeback together based on a coincident.

What we liked about the film was Blomkamp based his ideas for a perfect world apart from a desperate, ruined Earth on real-life concepts.